The Iron Lady DVD
Starring: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Olivia Coleman
Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Rating: 3/5
It was all about Meryl Streep during the awards season earlier this year as her performance as Margaret Thatcher earnt her gong after gong after gong - her thirty year wait for another Oscar was over.
The movie sees her reunite with Mamma Mia filmmaker Phyllida Lloyd as they bring the story of Margaret Thatcher to the big screen.
The Iron Lady is an intimate portrait of Margaret Thatcher (Streep), the first and only female Prime Minister of The United Kingdom.
One of the 20th century's most famous and influential women, Thatcher came from nowhere to smash through barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male dominated world.
There is no denying it Streep is simply wonderful as Thatcher and all the Oscar hype was really is deserved.
She simply is Thatcher from her voice to her look, to posture to how she moves it is simply wonderful to watch her play this incredibly strong and determined woman.
Lloyd mixes the present with the past very well as we watch an old Thatcher remembering her younger days and her years in power.
The present day part of the movie is incredibly touching as Margaret is a woman who feels trapped in her own house - while she is still having visions of her husband Dennis.
But it is this relationship between Streep and Jim Broadbent that makes this movie so watchable as they are simply perfect together.
There is a genuine affection between the two and their relationship is warm and strong - it really is a plus point to the film.
However it does all get a little melodramatic towards the end which I really could have done without.
As far as the movie itself goes there is little to it and Streep is really it's saving grace.
Her tour de force turn is what drives the film forward and ultimately saves it - it's fair to say that her performance is bigger and better than the movie itself.
Sadly for Lloyd this would have been an underwhelming biopic if it had not been for Streep.
While Thatcher was known for her no nonsense tactics and politics Streep portrays her as a woman who really did struggle with her position of power and the daily battles that she faced to be accepted.
But it's the present day Margaret that you can't help but be moved by as she struggles with her grip on reality.
Streep is a powerhouse in this film and deserves all of the awards that have comesher way - sadly the movie couldn't match her superb performance.
The Iron Lady is out on DVD & Blu-Ray now
Click to buy The Iron Lady on DVD: The Iron Lady
Click to buy The Iron Lady on DVD & Blu-Ray: The Iron Lady: Double Play
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Tagged in Jim Broadbent Meryl Streep